This Robo-Sentry Is Basically a Roomba for Home Security

Meet Riley, a debatably useful home surveillance robot

By Kirk Miller

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Just launched, iPatrol’s new Appbot Riley is a roving home security monitor that seems more like a pet than an actual crime-deterrent.

Dubbed “your man on the inside,” you can control the tiny robot tank via home wifi and a smartphone. Riley transmits live 5MP HD video/audio and also works as an intercom.

Pluses: night vision, facial recognition and the ability to send motion detection alerts and stores up to five 10-second videos. Minuses: No cloud storage. No camera zoom. And unlike a Roomba, Riley does not navigate on its own.

The company suggests the robot is most useful for checking on locked doors, monitoring pets and playing with your kids; given that you can “pimp” Riley with different colored treads, it’s not necessarily being sold as an impregnable home-defense sentinel.